Exploring Neonatal Nurses’ and Parents’ Understanding of the Factors that both Enhance and Hinder Communication and Early Interaction between Preterm Infants and their Parents

Dr Julia Petty (University of Hertfordshire) and Professor Celia Harding (City, University of London)

15th Nov 2024, 1pm to 2pm

Infants born preterm face heightened risks of speech, language and communication issues, impacting education and social connections.

In neonatal care, bonding and skin-to-skin contact are often mistakenly seen as fostering verbal skills. Yet, the specific strategies for linguistic development are poorly grasped and rarely applied.

Julia and colleagues explored a qualitative study on parents’ and nurses’ perspectives on fostering communication in preterm infants. Parents primarily focused on bonding and skin-to-skin care, while nurses emphasised broader communication practices. Given the risk of delayed language development from insufficient parent-infant interaction, accessible resources tailored to parents are urgently needed.

Link to open access paper on parent data: Investigating parental perspectives of the enablers and barriers to communication with their preterm infants: A narrative study – Julia Petty, Celia Harding, Lisa Whiting, 2024

Past events Webinars